


Firefly

by witchymarvelspacecase



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 06:15:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13828233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchymarvelspacecase/pseuds/witchymarvelspacecase
Summary: Reader is Riley’s little sister. When Riley dies, she basically becomes Sam’s sister. She’s never really met the Avengers, and lives a normal life, sorta, until one day...





	Firefly

You’d discovered years ago that Sam Wilson could be a fucking asshole. He could also be a huge sweetheart. You known that for a while too, but it took your brother’s death for you and Sam to really bond. 

Sam would never replace Riley’s space in your heart. But having someone around, someone who knew Riley, helped. Sam hadn’t had any other family to fall back on when Riley died, so the two of you leaned each other. 

Now, Sam was the annoying pseudo-brother you’d never asked for, and you were the bratty kid-sister he never had.

...

It wasn’t unusual for Sam to visit you on the weekends. You were fresh out of your masters program and living in a tiny apartment not too far from the Avengers. Sam had practically begged for you to stay in the city, puppy-dog eyes and all. 

You’d met Steve and the Natasha several times. Since Steve was Sam’s closest friend, it had been inevitable that you’d meet him. Sam was pretty convinced that Natasha had met you just by chance, but if you had to guess, Natasha had done her research. She liked to know as much as she could about pretty much everyone and everything, it was how she survived. She was protective of her family, and you respected that. So you met her with a genuine and understanding smile. 

Though you know about the others, you had never crossed paths, and you were okay with that. They had important jobs, and you had your own life.

...

Sam was in your kitchen when you woke up. You didn’t know how long he had been there, but it was enough time for him to make up two servings of pancakes and coffee. Being the smart man that he was, he handed you the coffee first.

 

“Ya’ know, I gave you that key for  _ emergencies _ ,” you raised one eyebrow, as you blew lightly over the rim of your mug.

“I’d to say an inability to feed yourself breakfast with any regularity is an emergency,” he replied with a wink. 

You chose not to argue, he made good pancakes, and you  _ were _ pretty shit at remembering to eat sometimes. So the two of you ate, discussing the events of the previous weeks, Sam asking you your plans for the day, and then ribbing you because he could.

As you started to leave the kitchen, a glass of orange juice and a handful of vitamins were set in front of you. You cocked an eyebrow and Sam tried to “dad-stare” you down.

“Take the vitamins, Y/N,” he said, his tone brooked no argument, so you sighed, and did as he asked. You finished the juice, sat the glass down, and were about to sass him for parenting you, but you couldn’t. 

You felt so  _ weird _ . It was an itchy, crawly sensation, all over your skin. But you couldn’t seem to move to ease it.

“Sammy,” you said, your voice and octave higher than usual. He turned to look at you just as a grey stone started to cover your lower body. “Sam!” you yelled this time, fear taking hold. 

Sam ran to you, started trying to pry the stone off, but it wouldn’t budge. He met your eyes, just before the stone closed over your face.

The last thing you saw was the look of terror and helplessness on Sam’s face. Sam who’d been your only family for years, who smiled through everything, was  _ scared _ . And there was nothing you could do, because he was scared  _ for you _ .

Sam had his phone out and had the team on a video call in the next second.

“What the  _ fuck _ do I do?! There’s no way she can be breathing.  _ Fuck _ ! I gotta get her out!”

“Tony and Pietro are the fastest, I gave them the address and they’re on their way,” Steve said, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” That was all the Captain could do, but Nat grabbed the phone. 

“Sam, did she take anything before this happened?” 

“What? Like  _ drugs _ ? Nat what are you accusing my kid-sister of?!”

“ _ Vitamins _ , Sam. Fish-oil capsules. Did she take any?”

“Yeah, I bought her some vitamins. She forgets to eat all the time, so I’m gonna make her take the vitamins. What the fuck does that have-“

“Listen closely, Sam,” Natasha said as Pietro came through the door, Tony right behind him, “I need to tell you about terragenesis.” 

...

By the time Natasha was done explaining, she and some of the others had arrived, and Tony had finished a scan of the rock surrounding. 

“Vital signs are stable. She’s basically in a coma,” Tony relayed what FRIDAY had told him. 

“ _ A coma?! _ ” Sam said, slightly louder than he’d intended. 

“And she'll come out as soon as the terragenesis is complete,” Natasha said calmly, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder. “She’ll be okay.”

“You sure about this?” Natasha nodded. 

“It’s not the first time this has happened.”

Steve was standing by Sam and Natasha, a hand on Sam’s shoulder. Tony, Wanda, Pietro, and Bucky were all by the rock that was you. Vision and Bruce were back at the tower and Thor had been gone for a while, back with his people.

“Who is this kid anyway?” Tony asked looking from the rock, around the small apartment. 

“Riley’s little sister,” Sam said, “when he died… anyway, Y/N’s my sister now.”

“How come we’ve never met her?” Pietro asked. 

“Steve and Nat have,” Sam shrugged. 

“She was in school ‘till recently. Plus Sam didn’t want her to get involved; become a target. She’s just a kid.”

“She’s  _ 26 _ , Steve. She’s not a kid.” Sam admonished Steve in the same way as Y/N often did to Sam. Steve smiled, and Nat chuckled. 

“Older than us,” Wanda said, gesturing to herself and her twin brother, “And why didn't you let he choose for herself?”

“She never showed any real interest, or I would have,” Sam said.

“May not matter now.” Everyone’s heads whipped around to face Bucky after he spoke. 

“The fuck is that supposed to mean, Freezer-burn?”

“ _ Terragenesis _ ,” Bucky said, looking from the rock, to Sam, then to Natasha, “She’s evolving. Gaining powers, right?” At Natasha’s nod, he continued, “Wouldn’t we be the best people to help her with that?” Bucky asked Sam calmly. 

Sam didn’t have a chance to answer though as the rock surrounding you suddenly shattered and you tumbled out. Conveniently, you fell towards Bucky, who caught you as you gasped for breath.

“What. The  _ fuck _ . Just happened to me?” You looked around the room, recognizing everyone, but looking for Sam. When you found him, your eyes started to well up with tears. Sam noticed and pulled you from Bucky’s chest into his, wrapping his arms around you before answering. 

“Short version? Something in the fish-oil vitamins triggered a latent gene in you. You evolved, I guess. But you’re okay. You just may have some – side effects.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, let me get this straight,” you pushed yourself out of Sam’s arms, “the vitamins, that  _ you _ bought by the way, made me a  _ mutant _ ?!”

“Kinda sorta.”

You slapped a hand over your forehead and sat down, right there in the middle of the kitchen floor, and held your head. 

“So the creepy rock thing was a cocoon to protect me while I ‘evolved’?” You air quoted the word “evolved”. 

“Yeah,” Natasha replied, crouching down in front of you. “Look, it’s a lot to take in. But we’ve got you, okay?” She gestured begins her; at Sam, at Steve, and at everyone else in your tiny apartment. 

You met her eyes and nodded before placing your head back in your hands. 

“Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re  _ never _ gonna live this down. You got me?” And so began your adventure. 

...

“ _ Adventure _ ,” you thought, standing at the edge of the tower’s landing pad, looking down, “ _ the fuck was I thinking? _ ”

Of all the inhuman abilities you could’ve gained, out of everything you could’ve done. 

The Terragenesis gave you two abilities. One that you had found useful and relatively easy to manage, and one that you refused to even attempt. One that you were petrified of.

_ Fire _ and  _ flight _ . 

You had the ability to control, direct, and create fire at will. You were able to shoot small fireballs, or strong, steady streams of fire from your hands. It was a little like Tony’s blasters, but made of fire. You could also  _ put out _ fires, which had proven useful in Tony’s lab more than once. 

You’d also grown wings. Not angelic wings with feathers, but insect like. They were like huge cicada wings, translucent and veined, but they were strong. They folded nearly flat to your back, providing a sort of armor when they weren’t open. But despite their usefulness, they terrified you. 

Logically, you should’ve been more wary of the fire, but it was the flying that you feared. You couldn’t help but think about Riley, your strong, brave, older brother. He’d loved flying, and it’d killed him. You still couldn’t believe Sam could fly after that, but maybe he was just stronger than you were. You felt so out of your depth.

You were so engrossed in your inner dialogue, you didn’t notice that you’d gained an audience.

“I don’t know what to do for her, Sam admitted, “she’s so scared of flying. After Riley, she won’t even get on planes; she gets panic attacks.”

“I think it’s something she’s gonna have to figure out on her own,” Steve said. He and Bucky had found Sam there, on the inside of the glass, watching you. 

“Can I talk to her?” Bucky asked quietly. When Sam turned to look at him, Bucky's eyes were on you. 

“Why?” Sam’s response drew Bucky’s gaze away. 

“I think I can help.”

“How exactly?” Sam sounded suspicious, Bucky grinned.

“Don’t get your feathers in a bunch, I just wanna talk. I think I know how she feels. That’s all.”

“Uh huh. Don’t go hittin’ on my little sister, man,” Sam said as Bucky brushed him off and walked out to you. 

“If you’re looking to hide, this isn’t the best spot,” Bucky said as he approached, he spoke from far enough back that he didn’t startle you. 

“Not really  _ hiding _ , just trying to think. But hiding may not be such a bad idea.” As you turned to address Bucky, you saw Sam and Steve trying not to look guilty. “It looks like I wasn’t as alone as I thought.”

“Not too many places to be alone here,” Bucky said, “but I’ll show ya one, if you promise not to tell.” He had a conspiratorial glint in his eye. 

“Pinky promise,” you said, holding your left pinky up. Bucky gently wrapped his metal pinky around yours before talking you inside.

You followed him past Sam who gave you his “dad-stare”, which you responded to with your middle finger. Bucky lead you into the elevator, down to the common room, and down the hall to a small room at the end. 

The room at two walls of windows and was full of photography equipment. Sam had told you photography was Bucky's hobby, so this must be his space. As much as you wanted to look around, as much as you wanted to talk with Bucky, to get to know him better, you didn’t want to intrude.

“You didn’t have to-“ you started, but Bucky cut you off. 

“Don’t worry about it. Sam won’t come in here. Steve rarely does. Everyone leaves me alone here. I don’t mind sharing; you need space too.”

“Thank you,” you smiled. 

“Plus,” Bucky added, “the ceilings are high enough that if you wanted to, you could try flying a bit.”

You froze, your breath quickened and you closed your eyes, but Bucky came to stand in front of you, setting his hands on your upper arms and squeezing gently. 

“Only if you  _ want _ to. And I can be here to help. I’ll catch you if you fall. I’ll give you a boost of you need it. Or we could just sit here and look at my shitty pictures whenever you want. Okay?”

Bucky was letting you use his space. Offered to help you, but wasn’t forcing you to try. He understood your fear, and your frustration at not being able to overcome it. You looked at him closely; he had a small smile on his face. Though your breathing was still fast, you smiled back a little and nodded. 

“And, it’ll drive Sam batshit to know you’re in here with me and he won’t be able to nag either of us.” A laugh escaped you then. 

...

That’s how you spent most of your free time afterwards, in Bucky’s studio. Sometimes talking, sometimes messing with his cameras, or sometimes, very rarely, trying to fly.

Bucky had hundreds of pictures of your wings now, they fascinated him, you called him a nerd for it, but he just smiled. He had plenty of pictures of you too. Lots were taken when you weren’t really looking at him, a few had you with your wings spread. He hadn’t shown you those. Not because you would be mad, you’ve given him permission to take pictures if he “wanted to break his camera”, he’d almost snapped when you had said that. 

To him, you were perfect the way you were, but you didn’t see yourself in a good light most of the time. So he hadn’t shown the photos to you, yet. He wanted you to see yourself differently first. And you were making progress. 

Sam could see the change in you too, could see you growing, and accepting the mutation. Bucky had called you “firefly”, and though Sam had bristled at the thought of the Winter Soldier getting so close to his sister, when he had seen you smile at Bucky afterwards, Sam couldn’t stay mad. Didn’t stop him from reading Bucky the riot act though; he  _ had  _ told him not to hit on you.

...

The team was off on a recon mission. They’d been gone for a while, but they were set to return in the next couple days. You had been their backup, relaying information for them in the field, but no one wanted you to be out on missions yet, and you’d agreed. Until you figured out your fear, you would have been a liability more than an asset.

With the team on their way home, you made your way to your room. You intended to read, but instead of reaching your room, you ended up outside Bucky’s studio. You hadn’t gotten lost; Clint had made it his special mission to teach you  _ every _ single way around the tower until you could navigate it blindfolded, which he had made you do. You hadn’t gotten lost, so you must have wanted to be there. No surprise really, you missed Bucky.

You missed everyone, especially Sam, but Bucky was special. He’d been there for you a lot, almost as much as Sam. But whereas you saw Sam as your brother, Bucky was something else. 

At first it had bothered you that you had feelings towards him, but really, how could you not. He was sweet, and smart, and snarky too. You fit together. Not that you had any plans on  _ telling _ him. He had his own demons to deal with,  _ and _ he insisted on helping you with yours; you didn’t need to lump anything more on the poor guy. 

You let yourself into the studio, and closed the door behind you. You looked to the chair Bucky had brought in for you, and thought about curling up in it. Bucky had brought the chair in so that you could have a space. You’d argued that the room was  _ his _ space, but he said he wanted you to have one too; he wanted you to be comfortable in his space. The chair had a large, but extremely cushy back, it was comfortable for you with your wings, that was why Bucky picked it. But although your chair beckoned, you moved to look out the windows instead; out at the sky. Your wings twitched. They did that sometimes, usually when you were angry, or afraid. But you didn’t feel angry, you didn’t feel afraid. You felt  _ determined _ .

_ You wanted to try. _

You stood in the middle of the room and spread your wings. Thankfully, you wore a tank top that fit around your wings, and through some magic provided the support you needed for your chest. You spread your wings and began to beat them, faster and faster. Although your wings appeared similar to a cicada’s, yours were silent; they didn’t have the cicada buzz. Soon you felt your feet leave the ground. It was only an inch, but they were off. You held yourself off the ground for a minute or two. You’d done this sort of low hover before, and you knew your limits, so you lowered yourself, before starting again, going higher this time.

...

The team arrived home early, so no one was surprised that you didn’t meet them at the landing pad, but they  _ were _ surprised when they didn’t find you in the kitchen, the common room, or your room.

“Where is she?” Sam asked, he sounded a little worried.

“Miss Y/L/N is in Mr. Barnes’ studio,” FRIDAY answered, although Sam hadn’t asked her directly.

“FRIDAY,” Tony said, suspicious, “why did you tell us that?”

“Miss Y/L/N is flying, boss.”

The whole team sprinted towards Bucky’s studio. They opened the door with a bang. The bang startled you and you dropped. Bucky dove for you, but you didn’t hit the floor, instead you caught yourself a foot or so above, and hovered for a moment before lowering to a soft landing.

“ _ Jesus, _ guys! Way to give me a fucking heart attack!” you yelled, but the next instant you were surrounded by Bucky’s arms. You squeaked a little as he pulled you in, tight to his chest. You could feel his heartbeat; it was faster than usual.

“I’m so sorry! So sorry we scared you, Firefly. FRIDAY told us you were flying, and we didn’t think. We just wanted to see.” Bucky’s arms tightened even more, but you looked over his shoulder. You could see Sam, his eyes were wide, but there was a smile growing quickly on his face. 

“I’m okay, Bucky,” you said, hugging him back. He let you go, and the others finally came all the way in the room.

There was a lot of talking then. Mostly congratulating you, then talk of the mission. It appeared the debrief was going to happen in Bucky’s space. No one wanted to move.

After multiple requests, you flew a little more; not very high, but around the room a couple times. Sam caught you around the waist as you went to fly by him, and pulled you into a hug.

“I’m so proud of you, Y/N/N.”

“Thanks, Sammy,” you tucked your head under his chin, a warm feeling in your chest.

Sam was looking over your head at Bucky. For a moment, he just looked at him, no real expression on his face. He and Bucky had talked. He’d seen the photos Bucky had taken of you, had asked him, angrily, if you knew about them, and had been a little taken aback by Bucky’s response. He and Bucky probably wouldn’t ever be the best of friends, but Sam could see how you were growing, and how you were helping each other. As loathe as he was to admit it, Bucky was good for you, and you were good for Bucky. Sam smiled a little, and gave Bucky a small nod. No, he wasn’t Bucky’s biggest fan, but he could give him his approval. Provided he didn’t hurt you. If Bucky hurt you, then all bets were off.

Bucky met Sam’s gaze, expecting a glare, but when he received the smile and nod, Bucky felt like fireworks were exploding on his chest. He hadn’t  _ needed _ Sam’s approval, but he understood how much Sam meant to you and he didn’t want you to be unhappy. But he wanted so badly to kiss you. He hadn’t made a move because he wasn’t sure you returned the feeling, and he hadn’t asked because he was too much of a chickenshit. He was the Winter Soldier, and he had a lot of baggage, but he so wanted to tell you how he felt. With Sam stepping back, Bucky had a chance.

Steve had seen the exchange between his two friends and smiled. Bucky and Sam had both talked to him about the situation. He was glad it hadn’t come to a fight. He elbowed Natasha and Tony and nodded at the scene unfolding across the room. Tony grinned, so did Natasha and they went to go and collect on their bets. Pietro and Bruce would be annoyed that they had lost, but they would be happy for you and Bucky.

“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m going to bed,” Steve announced. After a few jabs about his senior citizen status, he and the rest of the team left the room, leaving just you and Bucky.

Bucky came over to hug you again, not as tightly this time, but his heart still racing. “I’m so proud of you. My little Firefly.” He pressed a kiss to the top of your head, and you felt it to your toes.

“I’m  _ yours _ now am I,” you teased, looking up at him with a small smile. Bucky blushed, which confused you; you were only teasing.

“Well, only if you  _ want _ to be,” Bucky mumbled. You almost didn’t hear him. Your eyes went wide, and you pulled away from his chest a little, wanting to see his face. Bucky took that as “no”, and went to back away but you grabbed his arm, his metal arm, and pulled him back to you, looking into his eyes.

“And what if I  _ do _ want to be yours?” you asked quietly, a tiny, hint of a smile on your lips. 

It took Bucky a second, but no longer before his arms were around you again, this time, his lips pressed to yours. Softly at first, but more surely the second, third, and fourth time. You lost track of how many kisses, or of how long you’d been kissing, but when you broke apart, you were both out of breath. You leaned your head against his chest, but pulled back quickly when you realized, you were both off the ground. Not far off fortunately, since the moment you pulled back, you both dropped, landing on your asses.

Bucky broke out laughing, and you collapsed on the floor, embarrassed beyond belief. But as he laughed, Bucky crawled over to lay next to you. He turned you to face him as you covered your face in your hands, groaning.

“Sorry,” you grumbled.

“Don’t be,” Bucky soothed, rubbing his hands over your arms, “I love you anyway, Firefly.”


End file.
